Volunteer with Camara and make a difference.

Our volunteers are at the very core of what we do and have been since the beginning. Find out what it’s like to work with a dynamic social enterprise, learn valuable skills and give your career a boost. Whether you’re looking to gain hands on practical skills in our computer workshop or take up one of our office volunteer positions, we’d love to hear from you.

Refurbishing Computers

Camara welcomes volunteers in the workshop from all walks of life. Some join us for short time college work placements and others are longer-term. Read Nigel’s story below and learn more about his experience of volunteering with Camara. We work with many colleges offering volunteer placements to those who have recently completed/in the process of completing a PC Maintenance or similar course and welcome applications for those seeking work experience. Our partners include National College Ireland, Fast Track to IT, IT Tallaght and IT Carlow amongst others, and we work closely with placement advisors to ensure positions are relevant and appropriate for students.

Have you got a positive attitude but lack technical skills? If so, we have other opportunities in the workshop that may suit you. Whilst on the job, informal training can help those with little technical expertise and give you a thorough grounding in all aspects of the work we do.

For updates on our positions available follow us.

We are currently seeking volunteers for our Workshop. See description of role below. Do you have a free day or two per week? Are you looking for something meaningful to do with your spare time? Are you interested in learning new skills and making new friends in a friendly diverse environment while helping young people have better opportunities in life? If so do get in touch with our Volunteer Manager, Stephanie, at stephanienolan@camara.org. We would love to hear from you. For information on our recruitment and selection procedure please click here.

Workshop Technician

ROLE TITLE: Workshop Technician

REPORTING TO: Workshop Manager

LOCATION: Chapelizod Industrial Estate, Dublin 20

PURPOSE OF ROLE:

Camara Education is an Irish registered Charity dedicated to improving education through technology. This role is to support Camara in processing the computers in the Dublin workshop so that they are ready for shipment to Africa.

Come along to the Workshop

When we are recruiting we give tours to those looking for volunteer placements or work experience in our Chapelizod, Dublin workshop on Tuesday mornings. We’ll show you how our workshop operates, what a placement involves and conduct an informal interview. When these tours re-commence we will post details here.

Volunteer Positions in the Office

Camara offers volunteering opportunities throughout the year. Our volunteers include college students, recent graduates and unemployed skilled workers. In return for their time and expertise, Camara offers individuals the opportunity to find out what it’s like to work with a dynamic and innovative organisation and to gain real work experience in their field. Volunteers bring passion, commitment, and new perspectives to Camara, which is vital for the development of the organisation and Camara gains enormous benefit from the contributions of supporters.

We are very lucky in Camara to have so many people interested in volunteering with us, and so are not always in a position to offer a volunteer place immediately. If you would like to find out about new roles, follow us on social media where we post all our up and coming positions, or sign up to our Quarterly Newsletter at the bottom of the page and we will keep you up to date with what’s happening at Camara.

For more information on all positions contact Stephanie at stephanienolan@camara.org or call +353 1 652 2668. For information on our recruitment and selection procedure please click here

Volunteer stories

Camara Education is fortunate to have so many dedicated people who give their time for free, to support the work we do. Volunteers bring a diverse range of skills, knowledge and expertise to the Camara team. Volunteers include college students, unemployed skilled workers and recent graduates using their knowledge at Camara to obtain further work experience.

Meet our volunteers

Sally Wu

Business Development Volunteer

Sally is from Hong Kong and volunteered for 6 weeks as part of her University requirements for graduating.

‘‘The work Camara is doing is meaningful—it can help the needy in the local area and in Africa. I feel like I have helped them indirectly. I enjoyed contacting potential donors, since I could interact with them and tell about the work Camara is doing. It was also rewarding to follow up the donations, as I frequently received positive feedback of Camara’s work—it motivated me to do better in my role. I have improved my communication skills e.g. how to write a professional email and call potential donors. While volunteering in Camara, I felt like I was a part of a big family. We helped each other and we worked as a team. The most satisfying aspect about my role was arranging collections and then receiving the equipment. I think the most valuable aspect was contacting donors and working with people from different places, as we could have cultural exchange in the office”

Nigel Hildebrand

Workshop Volunteer

Nigel is from Ireland and is volunteering with Camara since 2010. He volunteers at the Dublin Workshop.

“I started volunteering with Camara as I wanted to learn new IT skills and at the same time contribute to the goals of Camara. I like the job satisfaction the role provides in successfully repairing/refurbishing laptops. I also appreciate the learning curve—it never ends and always satisfies. There’s something new to learn almost every day in Camara with either hardware or software. Before joining Camara, opening a laptop would have been out of the question. Now, routinely, we change screens, hard drives, ram and keyboards, in addition to solving driver or other software issues. It’s great to share knowledge and skills with other (newer) volunteers and see them benefit from it. The most satisfying aspect of my role is to prepare the product to as high a standard as possible and meet delivery deadlines. One of the great things about Camara is that the training is often carried out by other volunteers and is always freely shared. Both staff and volunteers alike definitely make me feel like a valuable member of the organisation.”

David Sheehan

Media and Communications Officer

Having worked in finance for over ten years David made the big decision to change careers and completed a post-grad in Public Relations before taking up a 6 month volunteer placement with Camara as the Media and Communications Officer. This is what he had to say about his role. “While many placements in PR can revolve around doing very menial tasks, the role at Camara is very hands-on. From day one I was given projects to work on which were solely my responsibility. With such a small number of employees in the office, everyone really has to take ownership of their own jobs, so it is a great opportunity to prove myself in a new role and develop new skills.” You can read David’s blog here.

Geraldine

Workshop Technician

Meet Geraldine. Geraldine is one of our Workshop Technicians in our Camara Dublin HQ. Geraldine gives us her perspective of being a volunteer with Camara here:

I thoroughly enjoy the satisfaction of completing a task. I receive good instructions and training to conduct my role and love learning more about computers. I come to Camara Education every Tuesday to volunteer as I admire the work of the organisation very much. I know the need for education in Ireland and every country in the world. Computers are important for the future but are very expensive and it is great to be able to recycle them. I would encourage other woman to go for it and sign up to be a Workshop Technician. It’s good fun and you learn loads.

Glykeria Koletti

Marketing and Business Administration Assistant

Gly is from Greece and volunteered for 6 months as part of the Erasmus Program.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how I feel about Camara. It was a great journey that lasted only six months, but I will remember it forever. The people are amazing. The most satisfying aspect about my role was the diversity­—I got to work with lots of different people and do different things. The people I worked with were very willing to teach me. Angelo (our IT manager) was amazing—he took so much time to teach me. My IT skills and English have improved a lot, and experiencing a collaborative working environment first-hand was an invaluable experience.”

Martina Hynes

Business Development Officer

My name is Martina Hynes and I joined Camara Education last February 2016 as a volunteer. I chose to volunteer with Camara because I believe in the cause and the work Camara Education does.

After spending 3 months in South Africa and also some time in Moldova in Childrens’ Homes, I was able to see that none of the children had access to computers, and that they had very little learning material available, whilst their happiness and eagerness to learn was obvious. I also adopted a little girl from South Africa and helping Camara is as if I am doing my job to help change somehow the lives of the children I met. I wish I could do more to help to improve their lives. Volunteering with Camara has helped me a lot in developing new office skills. I feel very rewarded and positive, as I have been able to contribute good ideas to improve the work processes.

Eddie O’Reilly

Workshop Technician

Eddie started work with Camara a year ago, having been offered a place on the Tús back-to-work scheme. Eddie’s role sees him log every computer that comes through the door of the Chapelizod workshop into the Camara database. It’s a hectic role which keeps him on his toes. “I’d say I’ve logged somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 computers since I’ve started here. I’ve really enjoyed my time here. I’m gonna be sending out some CVs soon, and hopefully something comes up. Everyone here has been great and I’ll definitely miss it when I leave. Hopefully Jim (workshop manager) gives me a good reference.” Read more about Eddie here

For more stories from Camara follow us.

Volunteer Policies

Read the policies that guide us

Volunteer policy

Camara recognises that in order to achieve our goals we need to involve volunteers. We regard volunteers as a valuable resource and encourage them to get involved at all levels of the organisation and within all appropriate activities. We aim to train, support and supervise our volunteers to the best of our abilities and to act quickly and fairly if difficulties arise.

The aim of this policy is to communicate the commitment of Camara and to ensure that there is adherence to best practice for working with volunteers.

Volunteer Handbook

The Volunteer Handbook has been designed as a practical guide to aid volunteers get oriented quickly in Camara. It also contains a number of policies as follows:

Volunteer Expenses Policy – volunteers give their time and skills free of charge however Camara will reimburse any out-of-pocket travel expenses you may incur in the course of undertaking voluntary work for the organisation, provided these have previously been agreed upon by your supervisor.
Please note, Camara do not reimburse any travel expenses to and from the Camara workshop.

Volunteer Grievance Policy & Procedure – Camara recognises that volunteers have the right to raise grievances about any matter related to their volunteering (this could be in relation to another volunteer, a member of the paid staff, or the manner in which they are being treated by Camara).The welfare of its volunteers is of paramount importance to Camara. The grievance procedure is in place to ensure that all volunteers are dealt with in a fair manner.

Dealing with Issues & Concerns that arise Policy – Occasionally, there may be a problem or complaint made about a volunteer’s behaviour. Although this is very rare, Camara believes it is important that problems or complaints are dealt with fairly, openly and consistently. The procedure explained here will be followed in the event of an issue arising. In all situations Camara strives to ensure that the people involved are treated fairly

Dignity at Work Policy – Camara is fully committed to implementing and promoting measures to protect the dignity of employees and volunteers and to encourage respect for fellow colleagues. This is achieved by creating a work environment free from harassment, sexual harassment, bullying, racism and disrespectful behaviour, by dealing effectively with any complaints of such conduct, and also by welcoming diversity and promoting employment/volunteering equality.

Equal Opportunities Policy – Camara is committed to policies and practices that provide equality of opportunity for all, protect the dignity of employees and volunteers and promote respect for others at work. All employees/volunteers are required to take personal and individual responsibility to comply with these policies in order to ensure they behave in a non-discriminatory way, and do not participate in any acts of inappropriate behaviour, harassment or bullying.

Child Protection Policy

Health and Safety Statement

Camara adheres to all health and safety legislation to provide a healthy work environment, as far as is practicable and as set out in the company Health and Safety Statement. Employees and volunteers also have responsibilities for their own safety and should be aware of these.

Environmental Policy

Camara regards environmental protection as an integral and essential part of good business practice. We are committed to achieving and maintaining a high standard of environmental quality in all of our operations, to the protection of health and the environment and are determined to minimise any adverse impacts as a result of our activities.

Latest News

Camara Education Inc. is a registered 501 (c)3 in the US
Camara Learning Limited is registered with the Charities Commission (1135540) in England
Camara Education Limited is registered with the Revenue Commissioners (CHY 16922) in Ireland
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